Fate's Collection
by Woven Secret
Summary: "Blame your fate" indeed. Fate controls everything, thinks of everything, does everything. But the one thing it didn't do was throw away the forgotten paths, the lost memories. It forgot, so we take. We take and observe those chances. Oneshots collection
1. Table of Contents

Well, I had this idea while I was playing Tales of Symphonia for the 500th time (an exaggeration, of course!) and I decided that I wanted to do some oneshots. I wrote down a few things and then I just couldn't stop. I ended up with summaries for 75 different one shots! Yeah, it's ridiculous, but I figured that I might as well try to put them on here. The updates won't be on a regular basis, it'll just be whenever. But here are the one shots that I plan to write. Some of them are already written, but unfortunately they are out of order. I hope that these spark your interest, though. I look forward to writing all of these!

Oh, and there are some Colloyd, Sheelos, and Gesea stories, so if you don't like that then skip them. I'll be sure to put it on the top of the page so you can be prepared.

**NOTICE: I changed out what was previously and Regal and Genis bonding oneshot for what is now in #6. Number 51 has also been changed.**

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Fate's Collection

Fate works in mysterious ways. It bends, twists, and molds the lives of humans, elves, and all of the others in between. It doesn't discriminate, it doesn't belittle, it just does what it thinks will work the best for the world. "Blame your fate", indeed. Fate controls everything. Fate is even more powerful than the so-called Goddess. The only thing that it messed up on was this: it forgot to throw away the different paths it could have chosen. Fate forgot, so we take. We take the lost moments, the different endings, and we view them. We view what Fate could have done; the off-road trails, if you will, rather than the designated path. Now, my friend, journey down the trail and ask yourself whether Fate was right.

Tales of Symphonia oneshots

Table of Contents

1) "I'm home from school, Mom!," Lloyd called. What he addressed didn't respond. And he wasn't talking to the grave.

2) Yggdrasil has a little fun. Mithos thinks it might help.

3) Colette helps Lloyd with a problematic day: Mother's Day.

4) A little boy from Iselia draws a picture for Lloyd.

5) There's nothing wrong with healthy competition between friends, right?

6) They are each other's shield

7) Kratos never expected _this_ to happen.

8) Colette goes on an adventure to find Lloyd another Flanoir bunny figuirine.

9) Sebastion calls on Sir Bud to help him with Master Zelos.

10) Sheena discovers that she's not the only one who her Summon Spirits listen to.

11) Colette and Sheena see a problem with Raine's outfit at Hilde's ball.

12) The group takes Zelos' mind off of his fear.

13) One year after the defeat of Mithos, Lloyd puts his craftsmanship to good use.

14) Kratos finds a pleasant surprise when he accompanies the Chosen to Lloyd's home.

15) Presea needs help preparing for her date. Who better to ask than her companions?

16) As Kratos clutches the stuffed dog to his chest, he understands that nothing matters anymore.

17) Even if he knows that nothing good will come of their relationship, Yuan can't help but like this Anna.

18) Regal visits Alicia's grave for aid. When he swore to protect Presea, he didn't think that meant from boys, as well.

19) Mithos and Martel meet Kratos, the mercenary.

20) She doesn't care if Lloyd is with Cruxis. He's the one who told her that she's always her. Doesn't that apply to him, as well?

21) "Yuan, I'd like you to meet your godson, Lloyd."

22) Raine pays a visit Linar.

23) Raine is suspicious of Kratos.

24) Seeing the red hand print of Zelos' face, Genis wondered why he would ask the Idiot Chosen for love advice.

25) Colette shows her new wings off to Lloyd.

26) Lloyd and Genis wonder what kind of human Noise would be.

27) When Sheena agreed to be the emissary that would go to Iselia, she didn't realize that that would mean babysitting.

28) Lloyd plays around with his hair and finds out something surprising.

29) "Next time, Sheena, you might want to be more subtle in your public displays of affection."

30) Raine is proud to be their teacher.

31) Lloyd and Kratos try stargazing as father and son.

32) What Regal should have done a long time ago. "You're fired."

33) Lloyd and Colette run into problems when collecting exspheres.

34) Raine tries to analyze Quick Jump.

35) Presea has seen a lot in her life, but she never expected to come home to this. Bark! Bark!

36) Lloyd complains about his wings.

37) Kvar never liked to follow rules. "Why, hello Lord Kratos. What are you doing with the Chosen?"

38) Who's the Peeping Tom _now_?

39) Forcystus, the half-elf hero

40) It would pain Kratos to take the Chosen away from him.

41) He wasn't stupid! He'd shown _them_!

42) Yuan remembers.

43) He was hoping that the mask would work. "Zelos, why are you following me?"

44) But he didn't _want_ to give the ring back!

45) Pronyma, always living in his shadow.

46) Presea's daughters, Aryll, loves coming to family reunions.

47) That fortune teller was still in business?

48) Huh, maybe humans aren't so bad.

49) They swore to never take on a another vow. They should've kept to that decree.

50) Colette felt like such a child squealing over such a small thing.

51) Kratos and Yuan recall the signs of Mithos' waning sanity over time.

52) Noise doesn't know if he likes the new addition to the family.

53) Zelos had a promise to keep. To Lloyd.

54) Genis wants to know what it's like to fly with wings.

55) They hope putting Sheena in a room with that perverted old man at Hakonesia Peak will set him straight.

56) "Look, there goes the Chosen wannabe."

57) The dragon tamer wasn't expecting a second visit from the group.

58) No one thought of the "pure maiden" problem the second time they saw the unicorn.

59) Clara doesn't know how long her strong facade can hold up.

60) The old storyteller was glad he had another story to tell.

61) She really was Daddy's little girl.

62) Just because he had a chef's hat on didn't make him Wonder Chef. That's what Regal told the tenth person who asked him for his autograph.

63) Everyone tries to help Raine with her fear of water.

64) Origin's seal with Anna.

65) There's no sneaking up on an angel, Lloyd realizes.

66) A mother and son pay homage to the heroes.

67) Colette knew that when she opened her closet to find nothing but a revealing dress that Lloyd must have told their friends of their anniversary.

68) Now he was without both fathers.

69) He has the Eternal Sword, dammit, he can do anything!

70) Fate favors the heroes.


	2. Chapter 1

This is the first installment of Fate's Collection. I hope you enjoy. I figured I might as well tag this one on when I put on the table of contents so you could at least read one of them.

Disclaimer: If I owned Tales of Symphonia, the second game would've been so much better.

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**Title**: Sleeping Beauty

**Character(s)**: Lloyd

**Pairings: **None

**Summary**: "I'm home from school, Mom!," Lloyd called. What he addressed didn't respond. And he wasn't talking to the grave.

[][][]

Rubbing his eyes, Lloyd tried to keep them open in fear of getting hit with chalk. Again. Only five more minutes and then he could leave. He didn't want to be held late for sleeping in class by Professor Raine. He was planning on going home with Dad, picking up his swords and toothbrush, and riding back with Noishe so he could spend the night at Genis'. He was twelve years old and he was a busy man!

"Lloyd, how about you answer the question," Professor Raine offered.

Lloyd nervously glanced up to his teacher. "Uh, what was the question again?"

Raine merely shook her head and sighed. She knew she shouldn't have even bothered. "I asked which race typically live underground?"

"Dwarfs!" Lloyd exclaimed excitedly. His dad was a dwarf. If he had known what they talking about earlier, he would've actually paid attention. he just shrugged the thought off as Raine dismissed them. The five minutes were up! Yes, freedom! Jumping out of his seat, he dashed to where his dad normally waits.

"Lloyd!" Dirk called in his odd accent. Lloyd raced over to him and, grabbing his wrist, proceeded to drag the smaller man.

"Come on, Dad! I don't want to be late for tonight!" Lloyd tugged on the dwarf when he attempted to slow down.

"You were never this excited before," he laughed.

"I know, but it's Genis' birthday and Colette and I agreed to wrap our presents together."

Dirk just laughed before agreeing to pick up the pace and they made their trek through the forest. Besides stumbling over a few roots, Lloyd arrived at his home unscathed even with the increased pace. He burst through the door calling a "I'm home from school, Mom!" before skipping up the stairs. He strapped his two wooden swords on his waist and flipped through the numerous papers on the floor before finding the right birthday card. He pursed his lips in annoyance when he couldn't remember where his gift was. He just had it this morning.

"Where is it?" he mumbled and tapped a finger to his chin. This morning he got up and got dressed. He knew it wasn't in his room, but he decided to glance around the room for insurance, anyway. Nope. Well, next he went downstairs to eat breakfast, but he didn't see it when he came in. There only other place would be...

Stepping out into the hall, he made his way to the room at the end. He knocked once on the door. "It's me, Mom."

He creaked open the door to the dark room and scowled. He always hated how his dad turned the light off. The shadows made it seem like no was inside the room. His face brightened at not only the light but at the trinket lying on the end table.

Taking the gift and dropping it in his pocket, he then turned his attention to the figure on the bed.

"I know I told you about Genis' birthday already, but Colette told me that she wanted to wrap presents before we surprised him. I just, you know, wanted to tell you where I'd be."

He sighed when the still form of his mother gave no response. He knew he was being hopeful, but he thought that his mother would wake up from her coma. After nine years, she shouldn't if she already hasn't. That's what some people in town say, anyway. He refused to believe it, though. As long as her heart still beat, there was hope.

"Well, I'll be going, Mom. I'll be back tomorrow."

Without looking back, he gave her one last wish of waking up before heading back to town on Noishe.

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Well, review and tell me what you think. Just something that popped in my head one day. That's how the oneshot thing started. So, thank this story if you want to keep reading :]

Oh, and does anyone else think that the Tales of Symphonia anime is _sweet_? I love how it's different from the game. And Kratos, the amazing hunk that he is, was amazing in the Martel Temple where he just swipes at those Renegades and they are all dead. Loved it! He just is so cool! I can't wait to see when Lloyd finds out Kratos is his papa (and hopefully it will be less...speechy, haha.)

Anyway, I hope you liked the story. Chao!


	3. Chapter 2

Well, here is the second one! I hope you like it! It's a little short, but I still hope that you enjoy

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**Title**: Disorder

**Character(s)**: Mithos, Kratos

**Parings**: None

**Summary**: Yggdrasil has a little fun. Mithos thinks that it might help.

[][][]

"You should have listened to us, Kratos," Yggdrasil reprimanded the angel before him. He looked pitiful. The way he wouldn't let go of that locket made him seem weak and he avoided his bloodstained Flamberge like he had with Cruxis. Absolutely pitiful.

"They would've been spared if you came back to me. You knew Kvar would do anything for power. I could have protected you from him," Yggdrasil shrugged, "but apparently you didn't care for them as much as I thought."

The mercenary's eyes flicked up to the angel and he glared with all the might of a broken man. Which wasn't much.

Yggdrasil smirked. That got a reaction out of him.

Maybe he'll go back to normal now, Mithos thought.

"But now that you're back, you can help with my Age of Lifeless Beings. If you show your loyalty to me, I might let you even work out of Welgaia," Yggdrasil fluttered his wings and grinned crookedly. "Just as long as you don't knock up the nearest _pig_, that is."

Kratos clenched his hand around the locket more tightly and ground his teeth together. Besides that, Kratos didn't acknowledge his "friend". He wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

Yggdrasil frowned. He was expecting more.

He might just need some time to himself, Mithos suggested.

Yggdrasil waved his hand around. "Oh, stop sulking, Kratos. If you really loved this _Anna_," he spat, "then you need to face the problem.

He went and rummaged through the pile of bloodied clothes and items that Kratos had thrown on the floor. He smiled when his hand grasped the handle of Kratos' sword.

Glancing back, he grinned inwardly when Kratos finally reacted. His bloodshot eyes widened and he unconsciously moved away from Yggdrasil.

"Face," Yggdrasil offered him the sword harshly, "the problem."

Seeing Kratos' horror stricken form, the angel's face immediately morphed from sadistic pleasure to apologetic timidness. "But you don't have to," he gave Kratos a soft smile and pulled the sword away. "I'm just trying to make you happy, Kratos. You know, to be how you used to be."

Kratos' eyes darkened at the statement and the glare that had failed before came back and made Mithos shrink back slightly.

"Make me happy, huh?" he gave a humorless chuckle. "If you really wish for me to feel even a smidgen of happiness, then Mithos," he forcefully grabbed his sword from the half-elf, "or Yggdrasil," he brought it to his neck, "or whoever I speak to now," he led the angel to the door, "leave this room and with it your personality disorder and false concerns."

Mithos gave a frantic nod before vacating the room as demanded.

As soon as the door slid shut, Kratos tossed his sword to the blackened and bloody corner. Looking down at his shaking hands, he let himself be enveloped by grief as he was left alone in the shadows. "Oh, Anna, Lloyd...I'm so sorry."

[][][]

Mithos just stared at the door before him.

Kratos just need more time. Yeah, time. Time, that's right. Mithos needed time when Martel was killed. And then he'll be back to normal. He'll be his swordsmanship trainer again. His friend-no, not his friend. Kratos already betrayed him, Yggdrasil argued. Kratos betrayed him for swine and the swine gave him a tainted child. It was good for Kratos to have Kvar kill them; it put the mercenary back in line. Why Kratos decided to jump off that line in the first place perplexed him. It was troublesome to have more than one unruly companion (he knew Yuan had something up his sleeve). It would be simpler if Kratos was still loyal-Wait! Kratos _is_ still loyal. Kratos is his friend, the same with Yuan. Kratos just got distracted, that was all. Once he gets a clear head-Clear head, my ass! He couldn't even pick up a sword. He-is hurt! He'll come around!-When?-

"Lord Yggdrasil, Lord Yuan is waiting in your audience chamber," an angel told him. Mithos nodded and made his way to Yuan with one thought in his mind, one that both Mithos and Yggdrasil could agree on.

The humans tainted Kratos. And for that, he would make them pay.

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Reviewing would be much appreciated! I hope you enjoyed this one!...even though it was a little morbid. But! The next one is humorous, so don't worry!


	4. Chapter 3

Here's one for you. I'm sorry for the freakishly long wait. I'm not going to waste characters on my excuse-I just didn't update until now. But thank you if you are reading this, though.

Disclaimer: I don't own ToS, unfortunately. If I did, I would've made Genis less annoying, haha. To be honest, the first time I played the game I hated him. But Meteor Storm and Indignation have caused me to warm up to him. :p

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**Title:** Mother's Day

**Character(s):** Lloyd, Colette

**Pairing:** None

**Summary:** Colette helps Lloyd on a problematic day. Mother's Day.

[][][]

Lloyd pursed his lips as approached the school with his father. He frowned when his classmates went by with their mothers. Dirk must have noticed this for he gave the young boy a reassuring smile. It didn't help. Honestly, it made his frown worsen. It wasn't that he didn't want his dad there, it was just that he was being selfish. It was Mother's Day and he wanted to show up with a mother like everyone else. Instead, not wanting to have to go alone, he brought Dirk. He tried to convince himself that he didn't care and that Dirk was enough, but for an eight year old that wasn't an easy feat-it was impossible really.

The boy plopped down in his chair in the back as Dirk went to talk to the professor. But not the professor for much longer, Lloyd remembered as he glanced at Genis' older sister (Genis didn't have a mom, either). The scene actually looked quite comical when Dirk, a small and a buff man, came and joined the mass of mothers that Raine was at.

Lloyd scanned the room and noticed that Colette hadn't gotten there yet. He wondered where she was considering she was normally one of the first few to get to school. He asked her about it the day before and she shrugged and told him that she liked school. That conversation, though, ended up leading to a discussion about Mother's Day.

"I don't have a mom, either," she had told him.

"But at least you have a grandma. You can bring someone of the same gender tomorrow."

"True, but," she twiddled her fingers, "I'm sorry, Lloyd."

Lloyd rolled his eyes. "Dummy, you don't have to apologize. I'm just saying. It'll be weird for my dad to be the only guy there."

"He might not be," she denied with a pout of her lips.

Lloyd remembered that he had just shrugged it off and asked her if she wanted to pet Noishe.

When the door to the school opened, Lloyd turned his head towards the entryway and smiled at what he saw. Colette, with her hair in cute braids, was dragging her father into the classroom. Mr. Brunel greeted the group of women with a sheepish smile. He seemed to not know where to go when Colette released his hand and skipped away, but let out a sigh of relief when he saw Dirk in the room. Letting Colette go over to Lloyd, he joined Dirk.

When Colette approached Lloyd, he couldn't help but smile, especially after she chirped, "See? Your dad's not the only guy here."

Lloyd laughed at that and grinned. He was wrong. Mother's Day wasn't so bad, after all.

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Short and sweet! Hope you liked this one. I thought it was kind of cute :)

Review please!


	5. Chapter 4

Well, here is the next one! And it's up sooner than expected. Cheer everyone!

But anyway, thank you for reading this and review please!

Disclaimer: Same as always, guys.

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**Title:** Little Thomas

**Character(s): **Lloyd

**Pairing:** None

**Summary:** A little boy from Iselia draws a picture for Lloyd.

[][][]

Little Thomas loved to draw. Every year for his birthday he'd ask his parents for paper or paint or crayons. Paint was his favorite to get, though, even though his Mommy didn't really like it.

_"Tommy! What did you do? The kitchen's covered in paint!"_

Everything that he thought was pretty or cool was copied on to a piece of paper and pegged on "The Wall". This wall wasn't some ordinary paint covered wall, no, this was a very special wall. The Wall was covered from floor to ceiling with Little Thomas' masterpieces.

The boy kept these picture close to him-and for good reason too. There was his Mommy and Daddy there, and there was his kitten, Tweet. He drew of a lot of his kitty-cat. The adults never really understood why he named his friend that, but it made perfect sense to him.

_"Mommy, his name's Tweet 'cause if his name sounds like the birdies then he'll get along with 'em better."_

But his family wasn't all that he was working on. Especially not now. He'd been painting a lot of this new person lately (they just got back to the village).

He dipped two of his chubby fingers into the red paint then smeared it as best as he could into the lines he drew earlier. For the smaller objects, he only employed one of his fingers; he wanted to make sure it was neat. Once Little Thomas thought it was acceptable, he wiped his "brushes" in the grass then got black as his new color. He aligned his fingers and scrawled a name on the top of the page.

Lloyd Irving.

He clapped his hands together for a job well done then hurriedly blew uneven breaths onto the wet paint. When he finally thought that the color was dry, he scooped up his utensils and dumped them into his playhouse. Now, time to head out!

He shuffled throughout the village, picture clutched in his small hand, and scanned the few people he passed. He kept an eye out for a red coat. That was easy to spot. Even his Daddy thought so. He told his Mommy that one day.

_"Hun, that boy's got porcupine hair and coat that could beat Santa's. We'd know if he was in town."_

He perked up when he saw the pointy mop of hair and the red jacket. He rushed over, calling Lloyd's name and Little Thomas' hero looked over and smiled at him.

"Hey, there, Tommy! What's up?"

He thrust the crumpled piece of paper up the Lloyd's face and grinned. "I made you a picture!"

"Thank you!" he ruffled the boy's hair and took it from his hands. He chuckled at it then said, "Wow! It looks just like me!"

Little Thomas beamed at the praise. "Really?"

"Of course! I mean, look," he pointed to the noodle-like body and remarked, "you even noticed that I lost a few pounds. Good eye."

The little boy giggled when Lloyd put a hand to his scalp again. The swordsman then glanced around the area. He furrowed his brow. "Where are your parents, Tommy?"

The child puffed out his chest. "I'm a big boy, so I came here by myself!" he stated proudly. He felt just like Lloyd. His hero could go places without his parents, so he could too!

"That was very reckless of you, Tommy," Lloyd reprimanded with a slight frown. He chastised him softly so as to not be too hard on the boy (he did just give him a picture, after all). "You could've gotten hurt out here all alone. Make sure you bring your mom or dad next time, 'kay?"

Little Thomas nodded, eyes downcast, but stuck out his bottom lip in a pout. Lloyd sounded just like his Mommy did when he went out last time.

_"You almost gave me a heart attack, Tommy! Promise me you won't leave without me again?"_

"Good," Lloyd grunted as he hoisted the little boy on his shoulders. "Now, let's get you back home."

"M'kay!"

[][][]

Lloyd went though the creaky front door then headed up the stairs into his room. Instead of going to his bed like he should have at such a late hour, he bypassed it and went to the wall across from it. He fished through his pocket and withdrew a folded up piece of paper. He then reached over to the drawers in his desk and opened up a few of them until he found a small nail. He fed the piece of paper through the nail then pushed that through the wall. Stepping back, he made sure that it wasn't crooked then nodded in approval. Examining the rest of the wall, he let out a sigh. He was running out of room.

Practically the entire wall across from his bed was covered with portraits of himself done by numerous children. Some were of him smiling, fighting, cheering, taking down a monster, or anything a child's imagination could come up with. One section always caught his attention, though. Why? Well, this section had about fifteen drawings-all of him, all by the same person.

Little Thomas.

Lloyd loved the drawings, he did, but he just had so _many_. It was a little overwhelming at times.

Shaking his head, he decided not to worry about it and go to bed. And he figured he shouldn't complain. The kids thought he was a hero and they absolutely adored him (along with Colette and the Sage siblings). It was flattering when he would come into the village and have the kids cheering him on. It was, dare he say it, cute, too.

Besides, he thought as he stuck his hand under his bed, he wasn't one to talk. He withdrew a folder and with a wistful smile, he flipped it open. He grinned at the contents. Before him were the many picture he had drawn when he was kid. He remembered drawing them after being taken in by Dirk. Half of the pictures were of dark silhouettes with swords or purple blobs with blue backs; the inscription on top was 'Daddy'. They were a five year old's interpretation of a hazy memory. By that time in his life he could barely remember Kratos. He tried to though. He recalled sitting up night upon night trying with all his little might to get a face or a name.

The other half was filled with a dwarf either smiling or crafting metal. Big muscles were scribbled in with peach colored pencils and the scruffy beard was squiggled on with brown. The older of these drawings had 'Dirk' on the top, but as Lloyd got older, he started to scrawl with a pencil on the top 'Dad'.

A feeling of nostalgia washed over the twin swordsman. He actually..._missed_ these. He flicked his eyes over to the desk where the drawer he had opened earlier was slightly ajar. Lloyd shuffled over to the nails and chuckled. He really couldn't believe he was doing this. He already didn't have enough room as it was. Shrugging, he set to work and in no time at all, _his_ Wall came to life. He smiled at his work and felt content enough to finally find solace in sleep.

Little Thomas wasn't the only one to love drawing, it seemed.

* * *

And that is that! Reviews would be much appreciated as always, but it's not a must (even though I've been reading some stories where authors are like, "Meh! I'm going to be a brat and not update until I get this many reviews!" Fortunately, I am not like that).

But I would like to thank BrokenWind234 for kindly pointing out to me that I had a bunch of typos and errors in the last chapter. Thank you! (I changed them, just btw)


	6. Chapter 5

Well, here is the next one. A little humorous, I guess. Tell me what you think! Hope you enjoy it!

**NOTICE: I changed out the Regal and Genis cooking for one of the oneshots I had planned for later ("They are each other's shield"). And that one will be replaced with something different entirely. Sorry if you were looking forward to the Regal and Genis bonding.**

Disclaimer: I still don't own ToS. It's tragic, I know.

* * *

**Title:** Gambling

**Character(s):** Lloyd, Zelos, Raine

**Pairing:** None

**Summary:** There's nothing wrong with healthy competition between friends, right?

[][][]

Raine shook her head at the boys in front of her. They had to make everything into a competition. She never understood why. Maybe something to do with the alpha male status, she guessed. She'd have to check into it later.

"Beat _that_!" Lloyd challenged, smacking down his two cards with an unneeded flourish.

"I think I will!" Zelos waved his three in front of Lloyd's face. "21, baby!" Ah, blackjack. Lloyd's discovery at Regal's casino.

Lloyd growled. "Dammit, Zelos! I thought I was going to win, too. I had 20!"

Zelos laughed as he collected his winnings (it was only candy, but he wasn't complaining). "Maybe next time, bud."

Lloyd frantically looked around his side of the table. There was no more candy. "Shit." He glanced back and forth between his own empty spot to Zelos' candy filled area before declaring, "New game!"

Zelos raised an amused eyebrow at his friend. "Sorry to say, Lloyd, but you're out of candy."

"No," Lloyd crossed his arms, "If I win, you give me half of your winnings. If I lose..." he drifted off. He hadn't thought of that part.

"If you lose, you have to," Zelos' eyes roamed the room and when they landed on his fellow Chosen he snickered, "take Colette on a date."

Lloyd's face flushed and he blubbered, "A-a date?"

"Hey," he shrugged with a smirk, "I'm a romantic. Indulge me." As he saw Lloyd's eyes narrow threateningly he chuckled and said, "Oh, come on, Lloyd," he puffed out his chest mockingly, "be a man!"

Raine just shook her head again. This wasn't going to end well...

...And it didn't.

"I hope you learned something from this, boys," she tapped her foot on the ground. She looked between the two of them disappointingly. Lloyd, his hair free from his hair ties and his torn jacket in his hands, nodded. Zelos nodded as well, the white headband knotted in his normally neat hair. She almost laughed when she noticed he was without a shoe. Almost. That was until she flicked her eyes to the wreckage around the room. Tables and chairs were overturned, one chair was destroyed completely. Shattered beer bottles littered the floor and a few spatters of blood could be found on the wood. She _was_ glad that the blood wasn't theirs, but that didn't make the situation any more tasteful.

"Good," she replied, "now what did you learn?"

"Never throw the first punch?" Lloyd offered sheepishly.

"Cheating is bad," Zelos suggested.

"No!" Raine scolded. "_Gambling_ is bad."

"The bar fight wouldn't have happened if that guy didn't cheat, though," he winced when he tried to pull his headband from his hair,"so _honest_ gambling is fine!"

Raine pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned. These two were impossible. "Zelos, gambling is not in _any way honest_."

"Hey, if that idiot hadn't cheated then Lloyd wouldn't have had to hit him," Zelos shrugged.

"But if you wouldn't have gambled in the first place then that man wouldn't have needed to cheat," she argued impatiently. She crossed her arms and scowled at the Chosen.

Zelos waved his hand around. "The chicken and the egg, Raine. We don't know which came first. We-"

"-Just," she forcefully cut him off then sighed, "forget it. Clean this mess up so we can leave."

When she turned her back to the two men to exit out the door, she was tempted to throw the heaviest book she owned at them. Instead, she shook her head forlornly and tried to ignore the coming headache that was forming from their comment.

"First one to finish cleaning doesn't have to do chores!"

Everything, _everything_ had to be a competition, didn't it? She never thought she'd sigh so many times in one day. Sometimes she wondered why she even bothered with those two. They were definitely a handful, that was for sure.

* * *

Well, thank you so much for reading! Please review, please with chocolate covered cherries and star shaped sprinkles on top :)


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